\u200bIdaho-based Chris Howarth was checking the waterline at his parents\u2019 home in Oroville, Northern California<\/a>, when he was attacked by the reptile. The snake bit him twice, he told SFGATE<\/a>, with one bite reaching a vein during the May 26 attack.\u200b<\/p>\n Chris, a father of three, told Action News Now<\/a> that his wife, Jenny, thought he was joking when he raced inside and said that a western rattlesnake had attacked him. Meanwhile, his children were \u201cfreaking\u201d out, shouting: \u201cDad\u2019s gonna die!\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n Jenny raced him to Oroville Hospital, but, by the time they arrived, Chris was already feeling the effects of the venom.<\/p>\n Chris was suffering from a numb tongue, swollen lymph nodes and difficulty breathing. According to Jenny, the snake’s venom<\/a> had gone straight into his bloodstream. \u200b<\/p>\n Within an hour of arriving, he was given antivenom<\/a>. However, on his third day in hospital, Chris developed a condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation.<\/p>\n According to the Cleveland Clinic<\/a>, the condition causes a patient\u2019s body to develop more blood clots than it needs, blocking blood vessels. As a patient\u2019s platelets and clotting factor run out, the body is left with no way with which to control bleeding.<\/p>\n Chris was given platelets to manage the condition, but, by his sixth day in hospital, the facility had run out of antivenom. <\/p>\n \u200bAt one point, Chris began writing letters to his children \u201cto make sure they had one last letter from Dad.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n Eventually, Chris was helicoptered to Stanford Medical Center after using up Oroville Hospital\u2019s supply of antivenom, according to a GoFundMe<\/a> campaign launched to support his family.<\/p>\n Chris received 18 doses of antivenom during his stay at the Stanford facility, the campaign page says. Those doses were in addition to the 36 doses he had received at Oroville Hospital.<\/p>\n While being treated, he also received \u201cCryo (sic), platelet and plasma transfusions\u201d and underwent CT scans.<\/p>\n \u200bAfter 12 days in the hospital, Chris is at home with his family, the page says. However, he will be unable to work for an \u201cunknown amount of time.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-10-at-13-15-12.png\")
A California man used up 54 vials of antivenom after being bitten by a rattlesnake. He told one outlet that he was bitten by a ‘western rattlesnake,’ otherwise known as a northern Pacific rattlesnake (stock image) (Alan Schmierer\/Wiki Commons)<\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-10-at-13-02-42.png\")
Chris was bitten twice with one bite going through a vein. His wife said that the venom went straight into his bloodstream (GoFundMe)<\/p>\n